Gifts for Baby Boy

I get a new nephew soon, and yes, the gifts are for him, but they mostly make the new mommy's life easier! I sewed a matching cover for a nursing pillow, nursing cover, burp cloths and pee-pee tee-pees.

(Tutorial for the tee-pee's here).




The pony on the nursing pillow turned out a little shaggy but I loved how soft the fabric is. When my little buddy was born I made a cover that was half denim and half fleece and I love it! The pattern for the pillow cover that came with the pillow form had a zipper opening at the top. After making two using this pattern, I decided I liked the version that has a velcro opening at the center instead, because it is MUCH easier to get the pillow back in. If I use the zipper again, I'll use a much longer zipper than the pattern calls for.


Another thing I added on was a handle at the top. One of mine is getting a little frayed at the top because I grab it there all the time to move it around.











The nursing cover is made from 1 1/2 yards of shirt-weight denim cut to 30" wide. That makes an extra big nursing cover. I like them big so you can nurse in public without worrying much about wind, or little hands lifting up the cover. It has a boning center so you can see the baby, and an adjustable neck loop. A washcloth is sewn into the corner so the extra half of the washcloth can be tucked in or pulled out in a hurry.

The burp rags are just two pieces of flannel serged together, because you can't have too many of these.

Pee-pee Tee-pees

When I first heard about these, I about fell on the floor laughing, but they really do help-if you are fast enough or get in the habit of using them each time. If you've ever diapered a baby boy, you are probably aware that you run the risk of sudden showers. You simply cover the danger zone with one of these until the clean diaper is ready, and it prevents surprises. You still need to clean up the puddle, but at least you aren't wiping down the wall (or hair and picture frame and mobile...).


They are so easy to make too:

Take one washcloth, fold it in fourths and cut a circle through all four layers. A CD is a good size for a guide.






Using the cut washcloth as a guide and cut out four circles of flannel, then cut all of the circles in half.

You can either sew and turn in the seams, or serge these like I did. First serge one layer of flannel to one layer of washcloth along the curved side.






Then fold it in half so the flannel is inside and serge along the straight edge. Clip the threads and turn it so the washcloth is on the inside-and you are done!

A Good Idea

Little Buddy is starting to crawl around, and I've been one step ahead of him getting things childproofed. We needed somewhere to charge the phones, camera batteries, I-pod, etc. and the outlet we usually use is easy for baby to get to. I saw this idea on a crafting blog (when I find it again I'll post a link), their basket was fancier, and used a big rivet in the back for the power cord to leave the basket.

I found a basket with a lid, put a power strip inside, and ran the cord out of it. It probably would be a better idea to find a metal basket, I'm not sure how much of a fire hazard this would be, though baskets seem to be a common solution to the spaghetti of cords people accumulate trying to keep their gadgets powered. It seems to be working for now-though who knows how long until lil' buddy figures out the lid opens. It obviously will need to be moved soon.

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

While I was expecting my little buddy, my sister gave me a fun Farber balloon mobile from Ikea. I'd been browsing through many many ideas for nurseries, but the ones I thought were cute were out of my price range, and I hadn't seen anything I just had to have. I liked the colors of the balloon, and there was a cute little frog in the basket which gave me the idea...why not design a nursery around the old nursery rhyme-"Frogs and Snails and Puppy-dog Tails"? So I started searching the internet-and for such an obvious nursery theme for a baby boy, I didn't find anything! So with all the energy a working pregnant lady has I decided to do it myself. I did get most of it done before he arrived, and added a few touches later.
A neighbor gave me a changing table-but I wanted to hide the supplies, so I sewed some simple hanging curtains with a red pleat and tied it on at the corners. I used iron-on interfacing to applique a dragonfly onto a diaper holder, which also ties to the changing table.
My hubby snuck out of the hospital sometime on the day we took the baby home, and bought me an antique rocking chair. It is perfect! I'd looked for a rocking chair and hadn't found one I liked. I love this one because it is small, doesn't dominate the room, but is still wide enough for me :) I sewed a cover for a cushion to go on the chair (because the antique cushion wasn't as comfy as it could be). The crib had a gap between the drawers and the mattress when the mattress was set at it's highest, so I made a dust ruffle that matched the changing table. The thing that took me the longest to get done was the crocheted rug-the actual crocheting went really fast but I made it out of inexpensive sheets from Wal-mart, and tearing the fabric into strips and connecting them together took as long as making the rug. I also underestimated how many sheets I would need, so the project was suspended a few times. I sewed a nursing pillow cover out of denim and red fleece and the white afghan was made by grandma!

We had this organizer already, and I found some drawers for it-but still need to get two more that match...if I get around to it.
I found some green fleece to make a little receiving blanket, and on a whim I made a little red puppy out of leftover fleece from the nursing pillow. It's been chewed a bit around the nose but you get the idea :)
I had to show you this frog lamp a friend gave me that fit perfectly into the theme and colors. It might need to be packed up once little buddy is mobile.
The valence for the blinds matches the changing table and crib ruffle, but I appliqued a paw print on it to see what it would look like. I'd originally planned on adding a few more designs like a dog bone or shell, but I decided less was more here.
The quilt was the first thing I made, and was my first attempt at iron-on applique quilting. It turned out ok, but I learned a few things for next time. It was too big for the baby at first, and it gets really hot here, so it ended up as a wall quilt for now. You can also see the Farber balloon.